When Forîn Café opened in Kensington in 2021, the venue aimed to be a one-stop shop for localized treats, and also, a full-on lifestyle hub.
Tucked inside Harbison’s Dairy, which was refurbished and turned into a boutique residential and commercial space, the concept came from Seth Kligerman, Kyle Horne, and Will Landicho. The bi-level cafe’s main focus was to feature local and regional producers by offering carefully sourced coffees, farm-fresh smoothies, and artisanal pastries and breads from nearby makers.
Forîn then went on to include a wine bar in its repertoire with a vintage home sound system, a robust craft cocktail program, house-made wine, international retail, and an evening culinary program (at its Fishtown location). Now, the cafe and lifestyle hub revamped its second floor on Coral Street into a new space full of records on the walls, records on carts, listening stations, a neon sign, and more from a partnership with Impressions founder John Raffaele.
Raffaele comes from New York, and he launched Impressions Philadelphia, an online and pop-up record store, in August of 2020 to fill “a void for dance music and record shopping in Philly.” Since then, his shop has made a mark on local DJs and collectors in the region, and as a producer, Raffaele works behind the scenes to bring more of this to the city, the release notes.
And for those who want to check out everything this new addition has to offer, this weekend is your chance. The release also states that on Friday, Jan. 19, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., the Forîn team is welcoming guests to check out the new area, listen to vinyl (which will be spinning all day), enjoy an all-day happy hour, and eat free Ube Mai Tai popcorn for what they’re calling their “Impressions Launch Party” to introduce the neighborhood to the new space.
Those who head to the venue this Friday will be able to indulge in select wines by the glass for $4, Thai tea highballs for $5, and their new flavored popcorn, which will be free to all customers with any purchase all day long.
Owner Seth Kligerman also announced that he’s now keeping the café (which normally closes at 3 p.m. daily) open until at least 7 p.m. on Fridays. On those nights, there will be cocktails, wines, grilled cheese and other light bites, DJs playing live music and more every week moving forward for the Kensington café. And while Forîn closes at 2 or 3 p.m. daily, the new “Impressions” space will remain open until 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
“We’re so thankful to have John come in as our guest to help us,” said Kligerman in a statement. “We’ve known him for several years, and he’s been a huge supporter of the café since Day 1, so it made sense conceptually to bring the two brands together and join forces.”
Kligerman continued: “We want Forîn to be a place where people come to end their week to enjoy great music, delicious cuisine, and fantastic drinks after our usual business hours. Between all of that and the listening stations, DJs, and a vast collection of records, this changes the whole paradigm of what Forîn Café is all about.”
While at Forîn on the 19th, Philadelphians can also check out the space’s food and drink offerings spanning specialty lattes, special blends from Triangle Roasters, bagels, cookies and more.
For more information on the venue’s 2041 Coral Street location and its new space (note, there’s also a location on Frankford Avenue), visit forincafe.com
